Hvad er nyt?

The kids are back to school and the nights are cooler which means Summer is coming to an end. As much as I hate to say goodbye, I always look forward to Fall and watching the colors change. It’s such a beautiful time of the year.Even though Ellen Lodge 21 takes a break from our monthly meetings, we still have plenty of hi-lites to mention. First of all, did you know that Mount Rushmore was created by a Danish Sculptor? At the April meeting, Judy gave a report on Gutzon Borlum (1867-1941). His father was a Danish Mormon. He is best known for Mount Rushmore. He not only created the model, but he also picked the site for the sculptor. In his spare time he also sculpted 100 apostles and saints for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York and designed the Stone Mountain sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, plus a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln that was exhibited in the White House by Theodore Roosevelt.

Theresa's granddaughters, Brenna and Keelin, were initiated into our lodge. Not only did they join the Sisterhood, but they also got to celebrate their 10th birthday with all their new Danish Sisters on April 15.

The Museum of Nature and Science in Denver hosted the “Vikings Beyond the Legion” exhibit April through August. Ellen Lodge 21 was invited to be part of the Scandinavian Festival held at the museum on May 7. Our lodge, along with the Denver Danes, represented the Danish community in Denver. It was a one day event that featured dancing, singing, knitting, food, rosemaling patterns for children to color and much much more. The museum welcomed 5200 guests that day and many of them attended this wonderful event.

June means it’s time for our Annual Lodge Picnic. This year it was very special because it was held in the mountains at Pia’s new home. Moving to the mountains was a dream come true for Pia's family and thank goodness, she wanted to share it with her Ellen Lodge family. Birgitte, her husband Jeff, Pia and her husband Sam hosted the picnic with the assistance of Sam and Pia's daughter Emily and her boyfriend Joel. After a long drive we were pleasantly surprised to find our host family waiting for us to arrive with “valet parking”. They were all so organized from beginning to end. There were 35 in attendance with many of them first time guests. We had a family of four, the Hansen’s, who had just moved to Colorado, join us, the family of Ronnie Tronoe, owner of the Taste of Denmark Bakery in attendance, husbands, sons and daughters…….It was great to see such family participation. The porch was lined up with a main course of pulled pork, baked beans, vegetables, salads and of course, desserts. The food was delicious and no one went home hungry. Our honored guest was Bergen (15), granddaughter of Sister Ethel. Bergen’s entire family was present to see her initiated as our newest member of Ellen Lodge. Our hostess Pia, always wanting to test our knowledge of Denmark, gave us a fun quiz. A few of the attendees (Inge and Judy) did quite well earning them a prize. Some of us didn’t do as well. If they’d had a prize for the lowest score, I think I would have won. There was plenty of room to hike the property or play games that had been set up, but most of us just enjoyed visiting with each other. Thank you to the host families for making this day so special. It was a perfect setting for a perfect day.

With no scheduled events in July, The lodge Board met on a Saturday to review the past year and make plans for 2018.

We have continued to have craft sessions once a month for the Trollheim craft fair to be held November 3rd and 4th. The crafts are time consuming, but it is such a fun way to spend time with Sisters. Of course, Danes can’t do anything without food, so we always take some time off to have lunch prepared by one or two of the Sisters in attendance. Thanks goes out to Birgitte for sharing her home and for coming up with all the craft ideas.

Now that summer is coming to an end, it’s time to get back to our monthly meetings, discuss plans for the October luncheon, the Christmas gathering, donations to make, organizations to sponsor. All this was discussed at our first official meeting of the summer in August. Joanna also gave a heritage report on her great grandmother with numerous photo albums. We were all envious of how many ancestral family photos she has acquired along with her organizational skills to put them in a semblance of order.

Sister Dorthe’s son, Daniel was deployed to Afghanistan. His wife Paulina and their children moved from Hawaii and will be living with Dorthe until Daniel’s return. Our members have really enjoyed getting to know Paulina. She has already shown us her creative talent at our craft sessions. She also proved she knows her way around the kitchen by making her potato salad recipe from Equador for the August lodge meeting. We are so pleased that she will be able to share her time with us while in Colorado.

Thoughts and prayers to our Danish Sisters and Brother’s and the men and women serving our country throughout the Nation.